It is well known to those skilled in the art that in certain types of cutting operations, it is desirable to impart an orbital movement to the working portion of the rectilinear saw blade. The prior art is replete with mechanisms to provide such orbital movement. Representative prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,946,358; 3,945,120; 4,137,632; 4,379,362; 4,550,501; and 4,628,605.
These prior art mechanisms suffer from several disadvantages. These mechanisms require a significant number of moving parts thus increasing the cost of manufacture of the reciprocating power tool. Further, tools incorporating these orbital mechanisms require more maintenance than normally is the case. Finally, such tools have a greater likelihood of malfunction in view of the number of moving parts involved.
To enhance the versatility of a reciprocating saw of the type under consideration, it is desirable to be able to change the angle of inclination, or cant angle, of the blade with respect to the reciprocating plunger when orbital movement is not being imparted to the blade. U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,079 discloses a mechanism for mounting a blade in two reverse positions at different inclinations. However, the device of this patent is not capable of providing orbital movement when desired.